In message
-sept
ember.org, Recliner wrote:
Looking at the evening peak, there's 23 trains leaving Gloucester Road
between 17:00 and 18:00, split 11 to Heathrow (6:5 between the T4 and
T5) and 12 towards Rayners Lane (7 to Uxbridge). There's 23 between
18:00 and 19:00, now split 13:10 (still 7 to Uxbridge). That's not "much
more intense".

Those figures don't sound right.

I've been using the Piccadilly line Rayner's Lane branch since well before
the Heathrow extensions opened, and the service used to be split evenly
between the two western branches. Now, I sometimes have to wait for three
or even four Heathrow trains to pass before a Rayner's Lane or Uxbridge
train shows up. I find it really hard to believe there's any hour in the
day when more trains go to Rayner's Lane/Uxbridge than to Heathrow. My
observation is that at least 60% go to Heathrow.

Those figures were taken straight from the TfL on-line timetable pages.

Yes, *but* that wasn't the basis they were ordered on.
True, but in effect some of the S stock trains have replaced Piccadilly
trains transferred from the Uxbridge services to Heathrow.

I don't know if that is true, because I don't have service data for the
various branches over time.

You'd have to show that (a) the Uxbridge branch gets a better peak
service now than in the past (peak since that's when most trains are
used) and (b) that requires more trains than before rather than being
done through better turnaround.

Somebody (not me) who keeps old issues of Underground News could look
for old working timetable information.

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Clive D. W. Feather wrote:
In message
-sept
ember.org, Recliner wrote:
Looking at the evening peak, there's 23 trains leaving Gloucester Road
between 17:00 and 18:00, split 11 to Heathrow (6:5 between the T4 and
T5) and 12 towards Rayners Lane (7 to Uxbridge). There's 23 between
18:00 and 19:00, now split 13:10 (still 7 to Uxbridge). That's not "much
more intense".

Those figures don't sound right.

I've been using the Piccadilly line Rayner's Lane branch since well before
the Heathrow extensions opened, and the service used to be split evenly
between the two western branches. Now, I sometimes have to wait for three
or even four Heathrow trains to pass before a Rayner's Lane or Uxbridge
train shows up. I find it really hard to believe there's any hour in the
day when more trains go to Rayner's Lane/Uxbridge than to Heathrow. My
observation is that at least 60% go to Heathrow.

Those figures were taken straight from the TfL on-line timetable pages.

Strange, my experience is very different. Is that hour atypical? It
certainly seems that way to me, a regular user of the line.


Yes, *but* that wasn't the basis they were ordered on.

True, but in effect some of the S stock trains have replaced Piccadilly
trains transferred from the Uxbridge services to Heathrow.

I don't know if that is true, because I don't have service data for the
various branches over time.

You'd have to show that (a) the Uxbridge branch gets a better peak
service now than in the past (peak since that's when most trains are
used) and (b) that requires more trains than before rather than being
done through better turnaround.

It's my very strong anecdotal memory, but not something I can prove.

But it's not necessarily the case that the Uxbridge branch gets a better
service overall (though I think it probably does), just that a much higher
proportion of the trains are now Met rather than Picc. There is a frequent
Met service at Uxbridge now, but a very infrequent Picc service. And I
don't think there are any Picc reversers between Rayner's Lane and Uxbridge
(eg, at Ruislip or Ickenham) any more; the reversers now no longer get
beyond Rayner's Lane.


Somebody (not me) who keeps old issues of Underground News could look
for old working timetable information.

I don't keep mine either.